NEW YORK - The John Jay College Center on Media, Crime and Justice and the New York Community Media Alliance announced today the establishment of the Justice and Community Reporting Award to honor the best independent media reporting on selected criminal justice issues in the New York region.

For this year's award, journalists were asked to submit investigative or feature work relating to criminal justice issues affecting New York's multi-ethnic immigrant community. The work of all three journalists grew out of a special conference on immigration issues and crime held in June, 2008 at John Jay College. They were among 24 Reporting Fellows chosen from around the country to participate in the conference.

2008 Awardees:

	Ewa Kern Jedrychowska, of Nowy Dziennik, won for her article "Immigration Fraud Victims," which brought into sharp focus the vulnerability of undocumented immigrants to ruthless legal predators who promise a quick fix of their legal status.
	Click here to see the bio and winning article.

	Ali Winston, of City Limits Weekly, won for his article "Marrying for Love? You'll have to Prove it" on the stricter federal rules being applied to newcomers who take the risky (and sometimes shady) route of marriage to U.S. citizens as a way of legalizing their status in the country.
	Click here to see the bio and winning article.

	Sujeet Rajan, of The Indian Express, won for his article "Being Sikh in America," a moving, behind-the-scenes look at the Sikh immigrant community in New York City, and the increasing obstacles Sikhs face to gain acceptance in the larger society.
	Click here to see the bio and winning article.

The awards were presented during the 7th Annual IPPIES Dinner, NYCMA's journalism awards ceremony, held at Baruch College on Friday, December 5, 2008. The Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College, run by working journalists, is the nation's leading practice and research-oriented think tank devoted to encouraging and developing high-quality reporting on criminal justice. The New York Community Media Alliance is the only member-driven nonprofit organization that works to strengthen the immigrant and community press in New York City, recognizing the critical role it plays in organizing, advocating and promoting civic engagement in the communities it serves.

Support for the awards was provided by the Open Society Institute, McCormick Foundation, Overbrook Foundation, David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation. Award Judges were Juana Ponce de León and Ka Chan of the NYCMA; and Stephen Handelman and Cara Tabachnick of the CMCJ.